One Second
by AraelDranoth
Summary: One second can change everything, he knew that better than most. It happened to him on two separate occasions after all. The first broke his heart and his dreams but the second... the second allowed them to meet. Nagato/Fu
1. The Prologue

Walking the Path of Pain

Hello my fanfictioners both new and old it's certainly been a while hasn't it?

Well I am proud to present to you my last story for fanfiction... afterwards I plan to merely update my other existing stories and if need be write sequels for them.

So I hope you enjoy this story as it focuses on two of my favourite characters.

I must apologize in advance as it has been a while since I last typed a chapter and as such my writing will be kind of rusty so just bear with me as I may update in the future just to fix any mistaked.

Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim ownership of Naruto/Shippuden. I do however own the story.

* * *

_They say that your whole life flashes before your eyes when you die... I can't agree with that because I know that it's not true. _

_It just isn't possible for that to happen... when you are about to die... only the events that have changed you, shaped who you have become, those are the events that are worth reminiscing on in your final moments. I should know... that's what happened to me. _

* * *

The first thing he was aware of was the rain. The feeling of cool droplets of water falling upon his face.

At that moment the feeling was divine.

His chest was on fire and he coughed up more blood than the last time. Looking away from the heavens he was just able to make them out, their figures darkened and blurred by the dusk and the blood dripping from his forehead into his eyes.

_How did it ever come to this?_

All he could see was the black and the red. The crimson clouds adorning the bodies of the nine individuals standing in front of him.

"Do you surrender? Just tell us where the jinchuriki is and we will allow you to live." One of the figures spoke. He could no longer tell one from the other, all he saw were the crimson clouds, clouds filled with the blood of hatred.

Gritting his teeth he looked down into the pool of blood at his feet. Staring back at him were his eyes, glowing and filled with their ever vibrant violet of the Rinnegan.

"It doesn't have to be this way Nagato... you don't need to continue to suffer for the sake of one of them."

That voice... he recognized that voice... from so long ago.

It was from a time filled with happier memories... and more painful ones.

He was losing blood fast, looking down Nagato saw the cause of his distress.

A long and thick black rod right through his central chest cavity.

It was a miracle he was still alive, the rod must have just missed his spine and vital organs.

It was with that realization in mind that he lost all of the strength in his legs and he fell to his knees.

He noticed a pair of feet not far from where he had fallen.

"No... I won't let you take her... I won't let her down again." He growled past the blood filling up his throat once more.

He felt a hand grasp a handful of his hair and yank back sharply, at best all he could do was groan in pain.

"You would fight for them? Die for them? Are you really so naive as to believe that anyone of them would do the same for you? Answer me!" The voice roared.

A punch to the face followed this statement, breaking Nagato's nose, adding another stream of blood to his face.

"I would hear your answer before you die! Speak!"

_This is what it comes to... a pathetic ending to my pathetic life._

"Yes... yes I would die for them... I would die for her." Nagato whispered, closing his eyes feeling the rain for one last time.

_How did it come to this?_

And once more he faded into darkness.

* * *

It was raining again.

He hated the rain, hated it with all his heart and soul.

Looking up he was just able to make out the faded red paint on the soaked wood of the building in front of him.

THE ORIGAMI INN.

_Konan_

Shaking his head to clear his mind of past memories, he instead focused on the present.

An inn was perfect for his purposes. It would provide him with food and shelter while he waited out the storm.

With that thought in mind a small smile replaced the grimace he bore just moments ago.

It had been a long time since he had entered a place such as this one. It was not due to the fact that he couldn't enter but more to do with the fact that he often had no desire for it.

It was the smell if he was being quite honest with himself, the reek of vomit and stale alcohol constantly present in the air, hanging around like some new form of pestilence wanting to make itself known to the world.

It disgusted him to no end.

Taking a seat in the corner far from the hustle bustle of the rowdy customers who called the deeper interior of the inn their lair, he waited for someone to approach him ready to take his order.

The place was crowded that night, the clinking of glasses and the raucous laughter and senseless chatter of the others as they swapped stories of their days with one another.

Grimacing to himself he tugged at the front of his travelling cloak's hood as though the action would make him more invisible to the events surrounding him.

Then she appeared right in front of him. A behemoth of a woman who walked up to his table in the corner.

Looking at her from out of the corner of his eye he decided that she was most definitely unattractive as far as people go.

With flushed, swollen cheeks, dirty matted blonde hair and flabby lips reminiscent of a trout's his urge to gag intensified tenfold.

"What can I get for you honey?" She asked, beady black eyes staring at him as though he were some sort of bug she could burn away for fun with a magnifying scope.

_Another waitress_

Was what he wanted to say.

"Just water" He replied with just enough volume to ensure that she heard him.

A moment passed where the waitress stared at him incredulously before she shook her head, snorted and called out to the bar for a glass and pitcher of water.

Moments later his... water was placed in front of him. If the mudlike substance within the pitcher could be called that.

Deciding not to risk drinking it, he laid his head against the cool wood at his back, closed his eyes and proceeded to relax, though he remained mindful of what was going on around him.

After all an attack could come at any moment, especially when he was still so close to Hidden Rain.

This place was disgusting. He couldn't wait for the rain to let up so that he could escape out into the world once more.

It took three more hours for the rain to stop. Three hours in which he had to suffer through the agony of listening to numerous brawls and vomiting events. The moment the rain stopped he flew out of the tavern leaving only small change behind for his pitcher of water.

Sighing with relief he continued his path down the road.

It was several weeks later down this very road that his adventure truly began.

* * *

It began, as did most things in his life, with the rain. He had passed into the border of the Land of Hotsprings, one of the many lesser known nations that resided within the hidden countries. Two days had passed since and the rain had refused to let up much to his chagrin.

On the second day he entered a small town buzzing with activity. Children and adults alike were running around, their faces covered with white masks in the face of a smiling dragon. Red lanterns hung from the doorway of every shop and numerous stalls were being set up along the main road leading into town, the lights from the lanterns forming a pathway all of the way to the centre of town, their flames and stalls protected from the weather by numerous tarps.

Curious Nagato walked up to one of the stall vendors, a man in light blue overalls wearing another of those smiling dragon masks.

"Sorry could you tell me what is going on?"

The man chuckled merrily, grasping his sides as his body shook slightly from the action.

"You must be new in town my friend, welcome to the festival of the Laughing Dragon!"

"The festival... of the Laughing Dragon?" Nagato inquired cautiously.

"Why yes, today is the anniversery of our independence as a hidden nation, the day our first ninja, the Laughing Dragon himself defeated a demon and preserved our way of life, thus proving to the world that we deserved our independence." The vendor explained, his voice full of enthusiasm.

It was at that moment that Nagato saw that the merchandise for sale at the vendor's stall were of paintings and posters, each one depicting a shinobi in black and wearing a white dragon mask fighting some giant demonic figure wreathed in black smoke.

Nagato nodded politely, thanked the man and continued on his way down the road leading into and out of the town.

He had no interest in joining in on some meaningless festivities based on ridiculous folk tales.

"Excuse me sir? Forgive my rudeness but where is it you're going?" The vendor called out to him.

Turning Nagato frowned at the man.

_Where am I going?_

"I'm not quite sure yet... somewhere quiet and peaceful I hope." He replied more to himself than to the vendor.

The man tilted his head questioningly for a brief moment before shaking it clear.

"Pardon my offence but no-one is leaving the town tonight, the road has been cut off due to severe flooding, so unless you're in a rush I would suggest that you make your way to the inn and stay until the storm has passed."

_The road is out? Just perfect._

"My thanks... where is the inn?" He asked, careful to avoid making eye contact.

"Follow this road until you reach the main gate, it's the third building on the left from there."

Nagato thanked him again and made his way to the designated location. The inn was exactly where the vendor had said it would be.

_The Red Dragon Inn_

It was without a doubt better than the last one.

Taking a deep breath he began to move forward and it was in that moment that his life changed forever.

* * *

Looking back on it now, he realized that if just one thing had changed, if he had been too slow to get to the inn, if he hadn't stayed to chat with the stall vendor, if he had decided to use chakra to get through the flooded roads... then he never would have met her.

It was now as he lay there on the muddied ground surrounded by a pool of his own blood that realized just how much one second in time could change everything.

If he could go back he wouldn't change anything... because that one second... was worth everything to him.

* * *

A great force slammed into his side knocking him off of his feet. He landed in a puddle, water soaking his clothing all the way through as a result save for the spot where he was covered by his recently acquired burden.

Opening his eyes the first thing he saw was mint-green hair shoved into his face. Moving past the mop of green he was met with the sight of narrowed honey-colour eyes glaring right at him.

Her eyes widened upon making contact with his own purple orbs.

Scrambling off of him quickly she began looking around on the ground for something. Curious all he could do was stare at this insane woman even as she scampered along the ground frantically like an animal on the prowl, cursing the whole time.

He could hear that she was whispering something along the lines of 'where is it?' but he couldn't be sure.

After all this was far too surreal to be real, perhaps he was dreaming?

As though sensing that he was staring at her, she stopped and straightened, turning to glare at him with orbs of golden honey. He became vaguely aware of the fact that she lacked any pupils.

She appeared to be wearing an orange clip, the same colour as her eyes, in order to keep her hair from falling in front of her eyes.

His eyes trailed down to take in the rest of her.

With her caramel skin, white clothing and fishnet armour made up the majority of her clothing with several patches of that same caramel skin revealing itself in several areas.

He then noticed the armband on her right bicep.

_She's a shinobi, though I don't recognize the symbol maybe she's a local?_

He was pulled out of his musings when his cheek suddenly felt like it was on fire.

_Oh yes, that was definitely real._

"Hey idiot! Watch where you're going!" She yelled at him.

His eyes widened in shock even as she raised her hand to slap him again.

"She's over there! The thieving demon bitch went this way!"

The green haired shinobi glared at him, grabbing the collar of his cloak to pull him in close enough to notice that she smelled like fresh pine trees.

"This isn't over you got me? I'll deal with you later!"

The woman growled at the sound of angry voices approaching before turning around and running away, disappearing into one of the side alleys a few seconds later.

All he could do was stare at the spot where she had disappeared.

_Who was that woman?_

* * *

Well there you have it folks, the first chapter, the pilot episode to my last story.

I have seen no stories with this pairing so I thought that I would be the first.

Obviously it is an AU but this is fanfiction, technically every story is an AU... just of varying degrees.

You know standard procedure by now, just leave a review if you can please to let me know what you think.

Peace out for now

AraelDranoth


	2. The Promise

One Second

Hello my dear fanfictioners it is I AraelDranoth once again.

I have to say I was touched that so many people have read my story already regardless of whether they reviewed or not.

And I must say that I am having a lot of fun writing this story.

You know what is so great about these two characters? There is so much I can do with them because of how underdeveloped they were as characters in Naruto.

Now then enough of my ramblings! Onto the story!

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of the Naruto series in any shape or form.

* * *

_I wasted my entire life following the whims of others. I didn't know how to think for myself, how to define my own dreams... how to follow them with all my will... all my heart. _

_I thought that God had placed me on the earth merely so that I could suffer every day for the rest of my life. _

_There were days... days where my suffering was lessened but never truly eliminated. _

_The day I met Chibi was one such day... then I met Konan, Yahiko and Jiraiya-sensei. _

_Each of those days when I first met them was like a blessing from the heavens themselves. _

_The days passed and we all grew closer until, for one brief moment... I believed I could regain what I had lost... a family._

_But one by one they left me behind, whether it was by the cold embrace of death or by the waving of a hand saying goodbye._

_And in the end I had no-one... and I knew true pain._

_Loneliness is the purest, most terrible form of pain. _

* * *

Nagato continued to stare incredulously at the alley where the female ninja had disappeared into.

"Oh no! The demon attacked another tourist Tsubaki!" A male voice called.

"All right, all right! I'll handle this one Sen!" Another voice, older and gruffer than the first replied.

A hand presented itself in front of him, clearly reaching out.

Shaking himself out of his stupor he grasped the hand while making sure to keep his one visible eye covered.

"You alright sir? Oh no, did she hurt your eye? Let me take a look, I'm a doctor."

He felt a hand gently tugging at his other arm.

Feeling panic surging through him, he shoved the man away and threw on his hood to cover his face.

"It's alright son I won't hurt you, you have my word."

Carefully looking through the partings in his hair he was able to make out the doctor.

At first glance he would have thought the man a blacksmith or perhaps a butcher. The man wore simple overalls and a white apron. Hanging around his neck was another white mask same as what all the other townsfolk were wearing.

The 'Doctor' possessed simple features, the kind of face you saw everyday in a crowd but found it almost impossible to recall afterwards. In fact the only truly distinguishing feature was the pencil thin moustache that seemed to extend out just past his cheeks.

The man next to him looked almost entirely the same, a carbon copy save for the lack of a moustache and wrinkling around the eyes.

_Father and son perhaps? Or perhaps brothers?_

The Doctor held his hands up in a placating manner, his eyes holding only concern for his wellbeing.

Slowly he released his hold on the kunai he had hidden beneath his cloak.

"I must apologize for what happened sir, it was entirely my fault."

Nagato resisted the slight urge to snort.

_I highly doubt that you're the one who slapped me._

"Thank you but I don't require medical attention... but who are you?"

The Doctor's eyes widened for a brief moment before he smiled broadly.

"Forgive my rudeness for not introducing myself! I am Tsubaki Zenso and this is my younger brother, the town baker Sen Zenso."

_Brothers it is then._

Nagato glanced in the direction of the alleyway.

"Who was that green haired woman?"

He didn't realize he had spoken the words until the baker answered him.

"Just a pest nothing more."

"A pest? I thought I saw a ninja headband, how did you expect to catch a shinobi?" He questioned them.

"Ninja? Her? Ha! She's no ninja! That armband is a fake, as if anyone would ever let her into the ninja academy! Especially considering she's-"

The Doctor interrupted his brother with a cough and an elbow to the ribs.

"She is a vagrant, a thief who leeches off of the hard labours of this town's good folk."

The Baker quickly amended.

"Why was she running away?"

"She stole some bread! It felt only right that we attempt to retrieve it from her!"

Looking around he saw the bread, it was lying exactly where he had moments ago.

_I must have fallen onto it... so this is what she was looking for?_

The baker brother groaned upon seeing the soggy bread floating pathetically in the puddle before Nagato's feet.

"That was from my best batch as well!"

"I'm sorry?" Nagato apologized unsurely.

The Doctor waved his apologies off.

"No need to apologise it wasn't your fault, nobody's to blame except for that... girl."

Unsure as to how to reply to that or whether he was even supposed to, he instead decided to apologise once more and make his way to the inn for a good night's rest.

He was surprised to find that he was already tired from the events of the day.

_Today was exhausting._

* * *

_He could feel it._

_Yahiko's blood was on his hands, his warm, shuddering breath hot in his ear._

_"Yahiko..." He whispered in shock, his fingers unable to release their hold on the kunai embedded in his friend's stomach. _

_"Nagato... you and Konan must survive, no matter what... you... you are the savior of this world... I know you can do it."_

_Just one second._

_One second was all that Yahiko needed in order to ask the impossible of him._

_"Promise me that you'll never stop looking... never stop looking for peace."_

Nagato awoke with a start.

_Yahiko_

Reaching up to brush back his hair from his face he became aware of the fact that his face was wet.

Tears.

Twin tracks of wetness leading from his eyes only to join at his chin, dripping onto the sheets of the bed.

_I'm crying again_

Getting out of bed he walked to the bathroom, turning on the light as he did so.

Immediately he walked to the basin, opened the tap and began splashing water onto his face, as much to wake him up as to remove evidence of his tears.

_Yahiko... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry._

Looking up he was shocked to see Yahiko standing behind him in the mirror, smiling.

_I promise Yahiko... I promise that I will continue to search for the peace we all strived for._

A moment later he blinked and his friend was gone.

_Even if I no longer believe it exists._

* * *

The next day he was pleasantly surprised to find the rays of the sun poking out between the curtains.

That was good, it meant that he could travel unperturbed by weather conditions.

As he passed under the arch of the gate leading out of town he paused and looked back.

He found himself wondering for a moment as to what had happened to the girl with the mint-green hair.

The moment passed as when her face came to mind, his cheek stung slightly, bringing him out of his stupor. Shaking his head he turned away and continued on his quest.

All the while remaining unaware of the fact that he was being watched by several individuals.

The trek started out quite enjoyably, the road headed deep into the forest that had surrounded the town and he was content to hear the rustle of the leaves and the singing of the birds. The heat of the sun meant that he could no longer travel comfortably with his hood on, so once he passed out of sight of the village gates, he removed it.

It was... soothing to know that despite all of the chaos in the world, this place had remained untainted by hatred.

It was barely an hour into his journey on the road before he felt it. A large surge of chakra that caused him to stumble momentarily in his stride.

It lasted for less than a second, but it was enough.

_That was... unusual, I wonder?_

Slowly he came to a stop.

"Are you going to come out or are you going to keep hiding from me?" He called out to the surrounding woodland.

He smiled when he heard a curse and the sound of rustling leaves as someone left the bush they were hiding in.

Turning around, he found he wasn't that surprised to come face to face with the woman again.

"Oh... it's you again." He hissed in annoyance, or was that from the tingling sensation on his cheek from where she had slapped him the last time they had met?

"Funny I was about to say the same to you weirdo... you owe me and I came to collect." She retorted, her honey eyes ablaze with anger.

Nagato raised an eyebrow in response.

_I owe her? Is she talking about the loaf of bread? _

"Owe you? Owe you for what?" He asked.

"My loaf of bread you dumbass! That's what!" She yelled at him, moving forward with her hand raised to slap him again.

He was about to reply when it happened.

In the span of one second... everything changed.

"Look out!"

* * *

_He could no longer feel the rod inside of his chest, someone must have removed it._

_But he couldn't move... why? Why couldn't he move?_

_"He's dead... I'm sorry but there's nothing we can do... we have to go." A voice, deep and mechanical spoke._

_It was then that he became aware of the fact that someone was lying ontop of him, covering his body with their own. _

_"Fu..." The voice said, coming closer to where he lay._

_He heard the sound of ringing steel, as though a blade had been drawn from its sheathe. _

_"Stay back Han!"_

_A deep silence followed save for the sound of falling tears and mechanical breathing. _

_"All right... I will go patrol then." He could the sound of heavy footfalls fading into the distance._

_"You're not dead... you can't be." She sobbed._

_'Fu' He tried calling out to her but his throat wouldn't work. Why wouldn't his throat work?_

_A great flaming pain erupted in his left cheek followed swiftly by the right one as the sound of open palms striking flesh filled the air. _

_"Wake up you bastard! Wake up! I need you to be alive! If you die on me then I swear I will bring you back just so that I can kill you myself!" She screamed, slapping him as hard as she could._

_It was too late._

_He could feel the darkness reaching for him... he could feel Chibi's presence. _

_He could hear Yahiko and his parents telling him it was alright, that he could finally let go._

_"You promised! You promised me that you wouldn't die! How can you just break your promise like that!"_

_'I'm sorry Fu... but I don't think I can keep that promise anymore'._

_The darkness enclosed around him, he could feel his father's hand grasping his shoulder in comfort and his mother's hand caressing his hair soothingly._

_"YOU PROMISED YOU'D NEVER GIVE UP!"_

* * *

Well that's all for now folks.

I know, I know I'm a total ass for ending it like that but what can I say? I am an ass and proud of it too.

Review and let me know what you think. ;)

If you want to know what happens next just wait for the next chapter, I plant write it on the weekend and upload it then.

Till next time, cheers!

AraelDranoth


	3. Her Second

ONE SECOND CHAPTER 2

Hello my dear fanfictioners. both old and new.

It has been an awfully long time hasn't it?

I must apologise but this is the most difficult chapter I have had to write in fanfiction.

The reason for that is that I know practically nothing about Fu.

In fact the only time I've heard her speak is her ultimate jutsu finish in Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. It didn't exactly give me a lot to go on in regards to her personality.

As such I have deemed it impossible to write a chapter from her point of view without making her sound like an OC (Thank Aizen she's not a Mary Sue though).

Well I gave it my best shot but I think I can only write her character effectively when I focus my chapters on Nagato. But here it is, most likely the only chapter that will focus on Fu for the first part of my story.

In addition I am writing my final exams for the year at the moment all the way to the end of November so future updates may be slow until then.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden in any way or form. It is the propertyof Misashi Kishimoto and his incredibly vast army of lawyers.

Enough with my senseless prattle! Onto the story then!

* * *

_What could I say about myself? Well... My name is Fu... I was from Hidden Waterfall once, though that was a long time ago._

_My mother... I don't remember her but I do remember my father._

_He was a kind man, a strong man and I loved him with all my heart. He was the one who took care of me when mother passed away after my birth. He said that I was the one who allowed him to move past mom's death. _

_What about me? Well, I think that I am kind of fun to be around, a real blast at the parties... "Bam! That's how Fu gets it done!" That's what they would always say, at least until they found out what I was. _

_I didn't find out I was a jinchuriki until dad told me on my fifteenth birthday. You'd think I would have found out sooner but Dad always kept us isolated from other people... most of the time. _

_My dad was the most important person in the world to me, he was my hero, both as a father and as a shinobi._

_He told me that he hated the shinobi life and he hoped one day that he would no longer have to continue with it._

_Every time he left for a mission he would smile and ruffle my hair._

_He would always say: "I think this might be my last one caterpillar, then I'll retire."_

_Then one day he left for a mission... and he never came back. _

* * *

Three weeks... for three weeks she had been wandering the streets of this good-for-nothing town. In those three weeks she had lived in relative comfort, at least until they had found out who she was.

After that everything went down the gutter for her once again. The once kind town residents turned on her, they became hateful, refusing to sell her food and the like, singling her out and once again she became a pariah simply because she existed.

She wished that she could say she was surprised but this kind of thing happened far too often in the past. She immediately responded by moving just outside of the city, into the forest.

Her shinobi skills had always proven to be little to practicallty nonexistent, her father had been adamant about that. He said that people already had enough reasons to hate her, she didn't need to become a lethal weapon, that would only make the fire spread. It was for that reason he had never taught her how to use her chakra for little more than setting off tags and boiling water.

The first few days she had tried her hand at hunting, but the only game that seemed to exist outside of the town were rats and rabbits, both of which remained elusive despite her numerous efforts to catch one of them.

She had scrounged what she could from the forest, mushrooms, nuts and berries but there was only so much of that she could withstand.

And so she now found herself having to sneak into town everyday so that she could steal the food of the townsfolk, the _good stuff_ as she liked to call it.

* * *

_"This isn't going to work."_

"Stop being such a downer Chomei, all you need is a little faith." Fu chastised.

_"Faith? In this plan? You're making one of your jokes again caterpillar, aren't you?"_

"Shut up! It's a great plan!" She hissed at herself.

_"You plan to walk into the middle of a crowded street and 'casually' take a loaf of bread from the baker's stall as you pass by... that is most definitely not a great plan."_

Fu did her best to ignore Chomei's words.

_Stupid bug._

_"... I heard that caterpillar."_

_You were meant to, now be quiet unless you want us to go hungry tonight_

_"Fine... but you are going with plan B right? Promise me?"_

_... You never let me have any fun._

_"My existence would be meaningless if I couldn't make your life a living hell, am I right?" _She could practically feel the grin on Chomei's... face.

Shaking her head she decided the mature thing to do would simply be to ignore the bug.

Taking a deep breath Fu gathered herself for the task at hand.

Looking out into the street she watched as the townsfolk made their way back and forth, carrying supplies and performing other tasks in preparation of the upcoming festival.

Raising her left hand, she formed a single seal.

_Detonate_

Smoke began to rise from the roof of one of the buildings.

It took several moments before one of the villagers noticed the black smoke. The man began pointing and shouting at the 'fire', drawing more attention towards the smoke and away from the bakery stand at the end of the street.

Fu grinned to herself in self-congratulations when the baker moved away to see what all of the commotion was about, leaving his goods unguarded.

Taking a deep breath she made a run for it.

In all honesty her plan B was simple in its brilliance. She planted a smoke tag on the roof of the opposite building , set it off and proceeded to steal her meal for the day during all of the confusion.

Well that was the plan anyway, but then nothing ever goes according to plan.

As soon as her fingers curled around the edge of the closest bread loaf, one of the townsfolk, the doctor if she remembered correctly, spotted her theft.

Wasting no time, Fu grabbed her prize and sped off down the streets.

"Get back here you demon bitch!" Was all she heard as she sped away.

_"Oh yes, that went smoothly."_

_Shut up Chomei, not another word out of you until we're in the clear, understood?_

_"... okay but can I say one more thing caterpillar?"_

_What?!_

_"Watch out."_

* * *

One second.

One second was all it took, Fu lost focus of where she was running for one second as she conversed with Chomei.

In one second, she forgot to look where she was running.

The difference of one second is what allowed her to collide into Nagato at that particular spot at that particular point in time.

* * *

_For a long time I thought that I was the only one, the only freak in the world. Even after father told me about what I was, who and what I guarded, was it revealed to me that there were others._

_Others like me._

_Other jinchuriki._

_I suppose I should have suspected that I wasn't the only one but in all honesty that is what I had thought. _

_I felt so... happy._

_When I asked who the others were and where I could find them he just laughed and told me he had no idea about either of those things. _

* * *

_Purple eyes? What the hell is up with those?! Could he be...?_

Shaking her head to clear her mind she scrambled off of the stranger and began looking around on the ground for the loaf of bread she had stolen.

"Where is it?" She kept repeating to herself.

She stopped when it became evident that her loaf of bread was nowhere to be seen.

_"Just as well caterpillar, I'm sure that it would have violated your 'five-second rule'."_

_Shut up Chomei!_

_"I don't know why you're mad at me... I wasn't the one who bumped into you."_

Fu's remark died in her mind at Chomei's reply.

_Fair enough... where is that jerk?_

Looking around her, she saw the man exactly where she had left him, sitting in a puddle.

Rage clouded her mind and she proceeded to storm over to the fallen man.

The man seemed to be looking her over, causing her anger to intensify further.

_Pervert! Checking me out!_

Raising her hand she decided there was only one sure fire way to make him pay attention to her and not to her body.

_Slap_

She had never imagined that hitting someone with an open palm could feel so... satisfying.

The man winced even as his cheek began turning red.

"Hey idiot! Watch where you're going!" She yelled.

Seeing the confused look in his eyes she raised her hand to slap him again.

"She's over there! The thieving demon bitch went this way!"

The voices were close, far too close for her liking.

Glaring at the man underneath her, Fu grabbed his collar and pulled his face closer to her own.

_What the hell is wrong with this guy? Is he stupid or something? _She thought to herself incredulously at the still dazed look present on his face.

Fu decided the moment the thought passed through her mind that she really didn't care one way or the other.

She had to get out of there before the villagers found her.

"This isn't over you got me? I will deal with you later!" She threatened him, venom dripping from every word she spoke.

Fu couldn't help but growl at the sound of approaching feet.

Getting away from the redhead she quickly ducked into one of the nearby alleyways of the cluster of buildings all around her.

_Ummmm... Chomei, I could really use some help right about now!_

_"Sorry caterpillar? You want me to speak now and help you?"_

Fu gritted her teeth, resisting the sudden urge to smack herself in order to shut the bug up.

She began grinding her teeth at the sound of Chomei's laughter as well as the ever approaching sound of footsteps, drawing closer and closer to her with each passing second.

Finally she felt it, that odd tickling sensation on her lower back.

Looking down she smiled at the sight of two large, elongated wings sprouting on both sides of her body just below the middle of her back.

_"Is it time to fly away now caterpillar?" _

_Oh yeah._

With no warning the wings began to flap rapidly and Fu found herself lifting off of the ground, watching as the wings pushed gouts of cloudy, yellow chakra into the ground in order to propel her into the air.

She felt like giving a cry of joy as she began leaving the village far behind her... at least until her stomach started to growl in protest.

Narrowing her eyes, she looked back at the town shrinking in the distance.

_That guy... is so dead!_

* * *

Well... to be perfectly honest with you I did not enjoy writing this chapter, but I thought it was necessary to at least explain what had occurred in the previous two chapters from Fu's point of view.

All I can say is that I gave it my best shot but I truly believe it is hard to write a good OC. The closest I have seen is a story by Mersea called Till You Die. (Check it out, it's very well written.)

Now then the most important part of all, REVIEWS!

REVIEW ME MORTALS! IT IS THE LIFE SOURCE OF ALL FANFICTION AUTHORS!

My next chapter will be back to Nagato's point of view as I find that I can write his character a lot more easily than Fu's.

Hopefully they will introduce themselves to each other so I don't keep having to write 'that girl' and 'that man'.

Oh well I let my fingers do the talking so what happens next is up to them and my inspiration.

Till next time my fellow fanfictioners!

AraelDranoth.

Next Chapter: The Ninja.


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